Dragon Monk
"It is the balance of life and death that dictates peace itself." ' Spirit Monk 1.jpg 'Origins ' Balance.jpg ' Dragon Monks stem from the real of Dragon Kang, a legendary place where dragons and mythological Chinese folk lore come to life. The people here are traditional to their ways and are very much rich in lore and history. They worship many animals as their guardians and saviors but above all stand out the most the dragon, as such is the name. However the dragon is only one of four great mythological beast that are provident in dragon kang. In Dragon Kang the Azure Dragon is one of the four founding guardian spirits of cities and is said to protect the city on the east. The west is protected by the White Tiger, the north is protected by the Black Tortoise, the south is protected by the Vermilion Bird, and the center is protected by the Yellow Dragon. In Dragon Kang there are temples dedicated to each of these guardian spirits. The Azure Dragon is represented in the Kiyomizu Temple nearest the heardls of the Xiaofang Family. Before the entrance of the temple there is a statue of the dragon which is said to drink from the waterfall within the temple complex at nighttime. Therefore, each year a ceremony is held to worship the dragon of the east. As part spirit, the Dragon Monk possesses an innate connection to the Spirit World & Afterlife plains and is at their strongest in that realm, due to being surrounded by spiritual energy. They use that connection to the Spirit World to be the bridge between the two worlds in order to keep peace between them and ensure harmony, and keep an eye out for looming and oncoming threats. Upon death, the Dragon Monk causes the chosen one to reincarnate into the next two generational being, dictated by the cyclic order: born to either the turtle, the dragon, the phenoix, or the white tiger sign. Mirroring the order in which the first Spirit Monk, learned the powers from said dieties. This is also the traditional order in which any one incarnation is to master these powers, beginning with the zodiac sign of the incarnations birth. The reincarnation cycle can only be broken if the Dragon Monk is killed in the physical plane, the four spirits are destroyed, or the Incarnation is compromised by a spiritual infection. The Chronology of Dragon Monks Iron fist symbol by yurtigo-d859ir6.png.jpe The Chronology of Dragon Monks is a scared scripture-diary like book that is passed down from each single generation of Dragon Monk. A chronicalling of their best and worst experiences, wise words of advice and situational wisdom, and most importantly technqiues. Every single Dragon Monk that has ever exsisted has recorded one or more technqiues of their creation inside of this scripture as a means to be used as a manual. This allows each new Dragon Monk born to have an arsenal and array of moves to defend the realms and save the innocent from rouge spirtual evils. It also acts as a code of conduct, stating directly what a Dragon Monk can and cannot do in order to preserve his tittle and noble status. The Four Spirits four divine beast.jpg The Four Symbols (Chinese: 四象; pinyin: Sì Xiàng) are four mythological creatures in the Chinese constellations. They are the Azure Dragon (Chinese: 青龙; pinyin: Qīng Lóng), of the East, the Vermilion Bird (Chinese: 朱雀; pinyin: Zhū Què) of the South, the White Tiger (Chinese: 白虎; pinyin: Baí Hǔ) of the West, and the Black Turtle (Chinese: 玄武; pinyin: Xuán Wū) of the North. Each one of them represents a direction and a season, and each has its own individual characteristics and origins. Symbolically and as part of spiritual and religious belief, they are the founders and guardians of Dragon Kang itself. They govern the realm of the living and the dead, and maintain peace between bridging worlds, including their home land where they can live their way of life without threat from others. They each hold traits and abilities unique to them 'The Azure Dragon' ' Seiryuu-1.png ' Azure Dragon is one of the four guardian spirits of cities and is said to protect the city of Dragon Kang in the east. The Azure Dragon is represented in the Kiyomizu Temple in eastern Dragon Kang. Before the entrance of the temple there is a statue of the dragon which is said to drink from the waterfall within the temple complex at nighttime. Therefore, each year a ceremony is held to worship the dragon of the east and as such he represents the summer. The Azure Dragon is the proudest of his spiritual kin, often boasting about strength and resolve over all things else. As such his most prominent teaching is the teaching of physical strength and will power. Believing the greatest of power comes from within and what one is willing to bring from within themselves to achieve what they need to. A swipe of his claws can move mountains and his tail can clear the skies of clouds in a single sweep. 'The Vermillion Bird' ' Suzaku 900.jpg ' The Vermilion bird is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations and four spirit guardians. It is sometimes called the Vermilion bird of the south as it guards the southern areas of Dragon Kang and represents the spring. The Vermillion Bird has a shrine which is the tallest tower in all the realm of Dragon Kang, and represents the freedom of protecting ones self and element of life. The Vermillion Bird is the fiercest of his brothers, opting that the greatest way to create something is to completely destroy what it was previously and build atop of it. He beilves in the constant element of change, and that while everything must end, everything will begin a new, as nothing is truly ever destroyed. His breathe and talons lay waste to any solid ground they come into contact with and a flap of it’s mighty wings can ward away evil in all of it’s existence. 'The White Tiger' ' White tiger.jpg ' The White Tiger is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations and four guardian spirits. It is sometimes called the White Tiger of the West (西方白虎, Xī Fāng Bái Hǔ) as it protects western dragon kang. In Chinese culture, the tiger is the king of the beasts and has been presented with a 王 on his forehead for centuries. According to legend, the tiger's tail would turn white when it reached the age of 500 years. In this way, the white tiger became a kind of mythological creature. It was said that the white tiger would only appear when the emperor ruled with absolute virtue, or if there was peace throughout the world. Because the color white of the Wu Xing theory also represents the west, the white tiger became a mythological guardian of the west and represents the autumn season. The White Tiger is the most protective of his kin, putting any and everyone before his own well being. Out of them all, he cares the most about the safety of the spirits and where their destination lies. He is said to have fur thicker than any metal ever crafted in the bane of exsistence, and that his giant black toned claws, could cleave a path to the very future and beyond, crafting his very will along the way. 'The Black Tortoise' Black turtle.jpg The Black Tortoise or Black Turtle is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations and guardian spirits of dragon kang. Despite its English name, it is usually depicted as a turtle entwined together with a snake. Further, in East Asia, it is not called after either animal but is instead known as the "Black Warrior" under various local pronunciations. It is known as Xuan Wu in Chinese, Hyeonmu in Korean, Genbu in Japanese and Huyền Vũ in Vietnamese. It represents the north and the winter season. In ancient China, the tortoise and the serpent were thought to be spiritual creatures symbolizing longevity, to which people would wear pendants of this creature hoping to live long lives. The Black Tortoise, which was at times thought to represent protection actually represents longevity and wisdom. His old age may be slow, but his mind is keen and sharp, like the finest tuned blade forged in any fires. He is the thinker of his kin, one who looks at the world for what it was, what it is, and what it could be. He is said to have knowledge of over 10,000 lifetimes, and can even predict future events simply by looking to the past, as the famous motto goes “History repeats itself.” 'Dragon Monks of Old' ''Chen ' first dragon monk.jpg ' Before Chen became the first Avatar, he ventured into the Spirit Wilds from the fire lion turtle after he had stolen the style of the Vermillion Bird. Over the course of the two years following his banishment, Chen befriended the spirits, made up for what he’d done to wrong one of them, and learned their teachings, and decided to travel the world sharing the knowledge he knew which could grant great enlightenment. During his journey, Chen encountered Yemma, the guardian of the after life, fighting rouge and corrupt shinigami spirits or death gods. Unaware of their power at the time time, Chen was defeated by the Shinigami thus releasing the barrier between the world of the living and the dead, which gave birth to what many humans know as “ghost”. Wishing to fix his mistake, Chen by order of Yemma went in search of the elder four spirits yet again to renew his teachings and powers, learning how to master them. About a year later, during their fight against the same rouge army of Shinigami during the the Harmonic Convergence (repair of the spirit barrier) , Chen merged permanently with the four spirits as one physical being, becoming the first Dragon Monk and gaining the ability to banish or absolve all spirits and apiritions of death that seek to do harm to the world or become lost. After he dwindled the number of Shinigami in the world, Chen oversaw the departure of the spirits to their own world and closed the two portals to the Spirit World, so that no human would be able to physically travel there and vice versa. Chen took on the task of being the guide between the two worlds, maintaining balance and peace. Years later, the spirits assured a dying Chen that they would be together throughout all his lifetimes, heralding the beginning of the Dragon Monk cycle and ensuring the continuation of the Dragon Monk’s role as peacekeeper of both worlds. 'Xiao Lee' Xiao Lee 11.png Xiao Lee is the acting emperor of Dragon Kang at this very moment. During his younger day's he himself took up the Dragon Monk role, but reliquinished his title when he opted to be the supereme ruler of the lands. The Dragon Monks and high roytalties of the land recieve exclusive training and tuttiledge from him. He's very...chill. Somewhat out there with his teach methods, but it's nothign no one isn't any kind of used to. He is kind and benevoloent, but he is not afraid to be the ruthless merciless ruler Dragon Kang needs. During his Dragon Monk days however he was very pretentious and rambuncious. He was always one to face the challenge head on rather than thinking it through. He stopped armies of unruly souls and problems abroad and is still to this day considered one of the best Dragon Monks. 'The Spirit Worlds ' spirit world.jpg ' The Spirit Worlds are a parallel plane of reality that coexists alongside the mortal world, and are home to the spirits, immortal supernatural entities which often embody different aspects of life and nature. Prior to the opening of the spirit portals, it was extremely difficult and rare for any human or creature other than certain ones, to enter/exit these worlds; conversely, only a handful of things were capable of existing physically in the mortal world, and doing so required them to give up their immortality or physical being as a whole as is the case with many Oni spirits. The Realms and the physical world are closest together during the solstices, which made it possible for spirits/creatures to manifest in the mortal world and for humans to pass into the Spirit World. This was originally breached a second time due to the Dark King Keyth Tasanagi during his escape from the Realm of Dark Haodu but fixed by two lone PMC Soliders, Hiro Lionheart and Artemis. There are also certain locations in the physical world which act as bridges to the Spirit Worlds or other realms. These locations are often revered by the cultures living near them, such as the Spirit Oasis in the Lost District of Kasaihana City. Dragon Monks acted as a spiritual bridge between many worlds and can travel between them freely for investigative purposes. Individuals who cross over to these alternate worlds cannot use their powers, unless they have entered physically through the spirit portals. Despite this, Dragon Monks are able to use their abilities when in the Spirit Worlds, even when they did not enter physically, as they are connected to all the spiritual energies when in that realm and are immune to their corruption. There are few known ways for a mortal to enter into the Spirit World, though humans are sometimes carried there by a spirit as the entity shifts between planes or death occurs. Enlightened individuals can cross over to the Spirit Worlds and realms by meditation and others can enter physically through one of the the portals, be it man mad or a random occurrence. There are races abroad that can transdimensional travel but they are far few and between. '''Purpose & Cycle Screenshot_9.jpg The Dragon Monk as he’s known, is a living breathing avatar for the four great guardian spirits of dragon kang, revered in Chinese culture. The dragon, the phoenix, the turtle, and the tiger. These four animals with their powers combined, poured their energy into one single resident of dragon kang, tasking him to be the first and last line of defense for their people and their very way of life & and serve as the guide for spirits to the proper afterlife. The dragon monk is imbued with the knowledge and skill of each spirit, able to become a driving force to defend and protect his home world the other worlds that so beckon his need and call and put at ease the restless dead. However his job is done in discretion. No one can know about the dragon monk or his role in the protection of other realms, as such he handles all of his business secretively. In order to obtain the power of the dragon monk, the chosen one must find and defeat the spirits of all four of the animal avatars and claim their power for his own. In his final test should he pass he will become the next Dragon Monk in line. As shepherds of the dead, Dragon Monks would seek out lost spirits across the empire. Occasionally, requests would be sent to a Dragon Monk to deal with spirits. Their goal was to bring the lost spirits to the afterlife. Mad ghosts had to be bound to the Dragon Monk in order to physically bring them to the cross roads, or purgatory. This was done through the ritual of binding. The reason many threats, like demons and oni’s do not even so much as make it into the sacred peaceful realms is because the dragon monk with his spiritual awareness is able to detect these threats before they become any bigger. Due to the nature of the reincarnation cycle, the Dragon Monk can recall memories of past lives. This can be done directly through deliberate meditation in order to connect with a specific past Dragon Monk. As a variation of this, the Dragon Monk can call forth a spirit-like apparition of a past life, or even their current self, in order to communicate with them. Recalling a past memory can also be done subconsciously when in the presence of people or objects important in a past life, or other certain triggers which can force the recollection of a memory. Temples in Dragon Kang used this concept of subconscious recognition to find the next Dragon Monk, which was the child that chose the Dragon Monk relics due to their familiarity. A previous incarnation of the Dragon Monk can also sometimes manifest through the current Dragon Monk by possessing their body. In this case, the summoned Dragon Monk will temporarily replace the appearance and abilities of the current incarnation. All the Dragon Monks are connected to one another like a chain, so if an event causes the connection with one past life to be lost, the connection to all the preceding Dragon Monks is also jeopardized. This connection can temporarily be restored by participating in certain traditions such as Yenma's Festival, which can act as a conduit for communication. THERE CAN NEVER BE 2 DRAGON MONKS IN EXSISTENCE OR A PRICE WILL BE PAID 'Physiology' 'Omega Gene Effect' It should be noted, that a Dragon Monk who does come into contact with earth as it is, is subseptible and prone to gain the omega gene. In the plane of the mortal realm with this gene, Dragon Monks are SEVERELY weaker here than they would be in any other plane of exsistence that isn't earth. As such, alot of their listed abilities are dropped a tier unless achieved by chi usage or outside means. (Ex. Enhanced Hearing becomes Peak Human Hearing without the usage of Chi. In somewhere like The Dark Zone, these senses do not need chi to be at specified level.) 'Perks' Dragon Monks physically have the body type of a denizen from Dragon Kang. Not a Dragoon, as noted by the Xiaofang family, they are typically all in the top condition of their primary race, whatever they may be, and in the condition to fight battles that need to be fought on any plaine. They're keen learners, heavily spirtually aware, very sensitive to chi and various energies, able to use it easier than most, and are built for endurance, and battering. The Dragon Monk is a hearld of combined knowledge from each of the four great guardian spirits. He has their marital knowledge, able to replicate their powerful forms into actualy physical martial arts, that he uses in combination with their own personal knowledge to fight any threat that may encompass or come his way.He is able to mimic their philosophies and manifest them as variations of his Chi energy in order to achieve a variety of four effects that aid him in subdueing spirits, demons, and evil forces alike.Typically, all Dragon Monks share the traits of: 'Enhanced Senses' Stemming from their supernatural awarness, not only to Dragon Monks have superhumanly acute senses, but they also are required to have a sense and awaereness of all spirtual happenings. Essentially in the right realm or with proper conditions, their sense could span countries if need be. *'Enhanced Hearing:' Ears pick up every single sound, and can decipher layer upon layer of noise; has the ability to pick up a conversation from a mile away in a busy city. May even mutate into Echolocation. *'Enhanced Smell:' Users can detect specific smells, and locate their origin. Some may even be able to tell if someone is lying by which hormones they excrete. *'Enhanced Taste:' Users may be able to detect poisons or other problems, Usually accompanies enhanced smell. *'Enhanced Touch:' Some can feel so acutely that to rub the users hand on a paper would be like reading the page, sensing every bump ripple or wave. Some may even be able to tell of distant occurrences felt through vibrations in the earth. *'Enhanced Vision:' Can see with amazing clarity, distance, or color, perhaps even in a different spectrum of light or into other dimensions. *'Illusion Awareness': Many illusion will affect only certain senses but lack in others, for example an illusion might lack a smell or have no heartbeat. *'Sense Focusing:' Focus senses to look for a particular sight/sound/smell/taste/feel and blocking out all others. *'Energy Detection:' Sense all forms of energy. *'Enhanced Awareness:' All senses are attuned to nearby activity. *'Hyper-Instincts': The user possesses a mind and instincts which can processes the world in the most advance and efficient manner. They are able to find any solutions to any and all kind of a problems that the user faces civilization, natural, etc., using both the logical and illogical sense and strategies 'Enhanced Endurance' Users can operate on a low power setting, allowing them to operate for an extended amount of time. They can hold their breath for longer periods of time and remain calm through stressful or painful situations, tolerate extreme hunger, unbearable thirst, and strong urges to sleep. 'Enhanced Durability' The user's physical durability (ability to endure/resist damage) is extremely high, allowing them to take numerous blows of internal or external assaults before succumbing to the effects. 'Zodiac Sign Based Perks' Depending on what Zodiac sign of the four great guardians the Dragon Monk is born under will determine what additional perks they will get. These perks are gratned conditionally as follows: 'The Black Tortoise' *''Maximum Concentration Capacity: Users can use 100% of their concentration, allowing them to push their physical and/or mental capabilities to their maximum potential; obstacles become minor problems while objectives grow significantly easier to accomplish. *Detail Intuition: User can notice, process and understand any/all details of any situation or environment no matter how small, allowing them to intuitively understand and solve any problem or situation no matter how difficult or impossible it may be. It doesn't matter how small the clues or details are, they will automatically know and process them almost instantly. 'The Vermillion Bird' *Peak Human Combat:'' The users combat is enhanced to that of the very zenith of natural potential. The User is able to take down multiple grand-masters at once with this ability. They are beyond that of the finest Olympic martial artist and are also able to learn new martial arts in a very short period of time. User may even be able to take down unskilled Super-humans with this ability *''Peak Human Reflexes: ''The user's reflexes are at the peak of Human Potential and Perfection; this means that their reactions are superior to those of normal humans and are near-superhuman. They can catch a fired arrow in midair, dodge offensive attacks, and perform amazing physically defensive feats; They could even evade strikes from beings with super speed, and dodge multiple gunfire with ease. 'The White Tiger' *''Peak Human Durability:'' Users of this ability have a higher-level of denser/tougher bones and muscles than the average person; their durability are at the peak of human conditioning, which entails that users are capable of withstanding situations that the average person cannot. For example, they can take getting beaten by a thick wooden baseball bat and it would break, falling a couple of stories from a building, getting shot in non-fatal areas of the physical body, survive an entire building collapse, and possibly withstanding beatings from superhumans. *''Peak Human Endurance: ''Users can endure more physical stress than average members of their species. They can tolerate large amounts of physical pain such as being shot or stabbed repeatedly, burned with high heat, and beatings that no ordinary person could handle. They can also hold their breath for 3-7 minutes and remain calm through stressful or painful situations. Users can also tolerate extreme hunger, unbearable thirst, and strong urges to sleep. 'The Azure Dragon' *''Peak Human Strength:'' Users are as strong as a human can be without being superhuman. They are capable of lifting several times there own body weight, up to a 800lbs-1100lbs level. They would be able to lift objects on their own that would normally require multiple men, as-well as surpass any Olympic feat of strength. This enables them to: punch an enemy through a thin brick wall, break/bend steel cuffs or thin chains, bench-press greater than 1,000lbs (500kg)-1200 (600kg). Users can strike down doors with a single punch or kick, knock people out with one offensive impact etc. *''Peak Human Stamina: ''Peak users of this ability are enabled to run for dozens of kilometers/miles and not lose breath. Additionally, they can exert themselves at peak capacity for several hours without use of rest before showing any sign of fatigue. 'Dragon Style Kung Fu/Physical Chi' 'Dragon Style' The movements of the Southern Dragon style of Shaolin Boxing are based on the mythical Chinese dragon. The Dragon style is an imitative-style that was developed based on the imagined characteristics of the mythical Chinese dragon.. The dragon represented two of the ancient elements, Earth and Water, endowing the creature with powers of illusion and strength. A Yang symbol, the Taoists saw the dragon as a personification of the Tao itself — "the Dragon reveals himself only to vanish." Shaolin Buddhists saw him as a vision of enlightened truth, to be felt, but never to be held. Certain very old men were called dragons, these being well versed in the life-supporting skills of herbal medicine, agriculture, and kung fu. Southern Dragon kung fu is essentially an internal, qi (pronounced chi) cultivating method, but initial training is far more like a hard, external style, than the delicate approach an internal (like t'ai chi ch'uan or baguazhang) would have. In learning the moves, the student will strike hard, block hard and stomp into each position, with the idea of learning the proper place to be once each movement is complete. Eventually, the method of transmitting power is retained, and the physically strengthened body is able to make transitions in the proper, fluid manner. In turn, this dragon-like smoothness helps disguise the attack, making it extremely difficult for an adversary to effectively counter. Once a purely physical semblance to flow has been mastered, the disciple incorporates the deep hissing sounds to train chi flow. Inhaling is silent, but exhalation is deliberate, tense and controlled. Inhaling lightens the body for aerial maneuvers, while exhaling drives power into each technique. Blocking is dispensed with, and parries or simple strikes substituted. At this point, novice and advanced student show very little in common. On the highest level, an opponent is allowed to tire himself out, evasion becoming the Dragon's key defense. Qi control is highly developed, and the degree to which the body must be moved to redirect or avoid impact is under greater control. The southern dragon stylist relies on a variety of fighting techniques that can be employed for a wide range of needs. The style uses techniques that can cripple or kill an opponent if the need arises or it can be used simply to control a minor street fighting situation. Lung Ying (Dragon form) focuses mainly on powerful, short range attacks, as is common among southern Chinese styles of kung fu. However, the styles' use of gripping and seizing techniques as well as the extensive use of the forearms both offensively and defensively are fairly unique to the art. The style was created as an aggressive combat art and operates under the basic assumption that you are trying to either disable your opponent to the point that they are no longer a threat in battle, or kill them, though these are not by any means the only options a Lung Ying practitioner has. As such Lung Ying employs a large number of techniques to damage the opponent's joints either through joint manipulation or direct striking; nullify the opponent's defenses either through breaking their stance or compromising their guard, and thus their ability to defend; and others. Like most southern style kung fu, it has limited kicks and jumps and consisted mainly of fist, palm and clawing techniques. Power generated from the waist using soft hard jin (see neijin and waijin). Lung Ying training also involves an extensive amount of iron body training. Hardening the forearms especially is considered essential to the style as it makes such extensive use of them. Depending on the particular school any of a fairly large pool of traditional training methods will be used to toughen the body. Three, five and seven star conditioning drills, pea buckets, weighted ropes, sand bags, and striking poles are all common in Lung Ying schools. It really isn't possible to separate Lung Ying conditioning from its methods, the two work hand in hand, each needing the other to be completely effective. *''Footwork'' In Southern Dragon style, leg work is characterized by a zig-zag motion that mimics the imagined movement of the mythical Chinese dragon. This also allows one to use floating and sinking movements which are very important in generating power and stability, making your body calm and relaxed. Though the Lung Ying footwork pool is deep, it generally centers on two basic types of stepping. The first is "Zig Zag" stepping (dragon stepping). Basically with each step forward, the rear foot moves forward and becomes the forward foot. However, the step is not taken directly forward but basically follows the angle the front foot is turned at (about 33 degrees). This has the effect of moving the LY player forward and off to an angle while offering some protection to the groin from attack. This type of stepping allows a lung ying player to press his opponent (usually used before the opponent's center has been taken) while launching attacks from angles that are difficult for the opponent to defend. The LY player seems to be constantly moving into an uncomfortable range and at an angle that forces their opponent to reposition their whole body to defend against, or else torque their torso around thus breaking their structure and disconnecting them from the power generation machinery of their lower body. The second basic type of stepping is Bik Bo stepping, or press stepping. In this method the front foot moves forward and the rear foot drags up to get back to the basic position. This stepping generally covers less distance than the dragon stepping, and is used to press the opponent. It will frequently be used once the LY player has begun to press their attack in earnest or is exploiting some advantage. There are specific methods for stretching this footwork out addressed in various forms. One of the primary purposes of this footwork is to keep the LY player "on top of" their opponent and in attacking range. Also, this type of stepping is heavily used in various stance breaking methods. 'Physical Chi' Physical is the ability to use aura to increase the natural abilities of an object or one's own body.Therefore,Physical chi users are able to greatly increase their physical attack and defense and are best suited for close-ranged melee combat. Physical chi usage is the most balanced category, allowing users to spread themselves evenly between offense and defense and become very strong using only simple abilities. One of the examples of more complex Enhancement abilities include enhancing one's healing factor. (out of battle) 'Bird Style Kung Fu/Destruction Chi' 'White Crane Style' White Crane Style province and is now practiced throughout the world. According to oral tradition, this martial art was developed by Fāng Qīniáng (方七娘; Amoy Min Nan: Hng Chhit-niâ), a female martial artist. This style is associated with traditional fighting techniques including long range, but it is most similar to close-quarter or hand-oriented combat. It is most recognizable due to the way a fighter imitates a bird's pecking or flapping of wings. While some white crane styles make use of a variety of traditional weapons, others have discontinued the use of weaponry. Fujian White Crane is a type of Shaolin Boxing imitating characteristics of the Taiwanese Crane. An entire system of fighting was developed from observing the crane's movements, methods of attack, and spirit. One day, while Qīniáng was doing her chores, a crane landed nearby. Qīniáng tried to scare the bird off using a stick and the skills she had learned from her father, but whatever she did the crane would counter. Qīniáng tried to hit the crane on the head, but the bird moved its head out of the way, and blocked the stick with its wings. Qīniáng tried to hit the crane's wings, but the crane stepped to the side and blocked with its claws. Qīniáng tried to poke the crane's body, but the crane dodged backwards and struck the stick with its beak. From then on, Qīniáng carefully studied the crane's movements. She combined these movements with techniques learned from her father, creating the White Crane Style of Fujian province. There are many versions of this legend. In some the crane does not block a stick but evades and then counters it. The point of the style is to deemphasize physical strength in favor of evasion and attacking an opponent's vulnerabilities. White crane fighting elements are popular, especially in women's self-defense, because they don't depend on strength, and women are able to imitate the pecking motion associated with this fighting style. known for its gripping techniques, system of joint locks, takedowns, and pressure point strikes, which is representative of Chinese grappling known as Chin Na. 'Destruction Chi' Destruction chi deals with external chi release that allows the chi practioner to fully utlize the art of destroying or disrupting matter with their chi. This equats to hitting structures of large sizes and taking them down, blowing down walls with a single kick, and if proper outside ignition is used, casuing explosive and devestating forces to spread outwards for a wider range of effect. This is flexible, as it can be shrunken and applied martialy, allowing a skinny person of frail stature to one shot a heavyweight wrestler with one chop. This method of chi manipulation is effective but the most tiring of the five, often requiring high reserves of chi, and draining even more so than that. 'Tiger Style Kung Fu/Fortification Chi' 'Tiger Style' Hung Ga is a southern Chinese martial art, which belongs to the southern shaolin styles and associated with the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung, who was a master of Hung Ga. The hallmarks of the Wong Fei-Hung lineage of Hung Ga are deep low stances, notably its "sei ping ma"(四平馬) horse stance, and strong hand techniques, notably the bridge hand and the versatile tiger claw. The student traditionally spends anywhere from months to three years in stance training, often sitting only in horse stance between a half-hour to several hours at one time, before learning any forms. Each form then might take a year or so to learn, with weapons learned last. However, in modernity, this mode of instruction is deemed economically unfeasible and impractical for students, who have other concerns beyond practicing kung fu. Some instructors though will stick mainly to traditional guidelines and make stance training the majority of their beginner training. Hung Ga is sometimes mis-characterized as solely external; that is, reliant on brute physical force rather than the cultivation of qi; even though the student advances progressively towards an internal focus. *Tiger Crane builds on Taming the Tiger, adding "vocabulary" to the Hung Ga practitioner's repertoire. Wong Fei-Hung choreographed the version of Tiger Crane handed down in the lineages that descend from him. He is said to have added to Tiger Crane the bridge hand techniques and rooting of the master Tit Kiu Saam as well as long arm techniques, attributed variously to the Fat Ga, Lo Hon, and Lama styles. Tiger Crane Paired Form routines from outside Wong Fei-Hung Hung Ga still exist. *Iron Wire builds internal power and is attributed to the martial arts master Leung Kwan. Like Wong Fei Hung's father Wong Kei-Ying, Tit Sin Saam was one of the Ten Tigers of Canton. As a teenager, Wong Fei Hung learned Iron Wire from Lam Fuk-Sing, a student of Tit Sin Saam. The Iron Wire form is essentially a combination of Hei Gung (Chinese: 气功; pinyin: qigong) or meditative breathing with isometric exercise, particularly dynamic tension, although weights were also used in traditional practice in the form of iron rings worn on the wrists. If properly practiced, it can increase strength considerably and promote a stable root. However, as with both most forms of qigong and most forms of isometric exercise, it must be practiced regularly or the benefits are quickly lost. 'Fortification Chi' Foritification chi is the art of using ones chi as an extension of themselves literally by using their chi to shroud physical objects and make them stronger/sharper. This is mainly used on external objects to make walls, and anything someone can physically touch stronger and more resileant. This can be applied to the physical body, but only on the level of the skin, unlike the physical chi users. With this, one would gain hardened skin, sort of like a dermal skin almost, that would make the user impact resistent to a degree. This however does not outright stop kenetic force, and will still hurt the skin, but it's the main reason this specific chi control is bread for objects. 'Tortoise Style Kung Fun/ Mental Chi' 'Leopard Style' It was supposedly created by Jue Yuan with help from Bai Yufeng and Li Sou. The emphasis of leopard is speed and angular attack. The leopard does not overwhelm or rely on strength, as does the tiger, but instead relies on speed and outsmarting its opponent. The power of the style derives from its aggressive speed. The leopard practitioner will focus on elbows, knees, low kicks, and leopard punches. Leopard kung fu is a hit, damage and run style designed to overcome superior forces with inferior resources. Counter attacks are sudden, indirect and short, with the aim of landing a debilitating technique. The goals of Leopard style are to: *develop muscle speed for external strength. *teach patience. *use the leopard punch for penetration and lower body springing power. The leopard style was founded on the creators' observation of the movements of the leopard in the wild, and therefore practitioners of the style imitate these movements. Leopard style techniques are geared towards single, two or three technique combinations that cause a lot of damage, disorientate or even blind the attacker. Blocking is wasted in Leopard - the style can be summed up with "Why block when you can hit?" It does not rely on rooted stances, and would only assume a stance while in attack in order to launch at the opponent. This hit and run technique of the leopard, something especially effective against larger opponents, is unique to the animal. The primary weapon is the leopard fist, which can be likened to a half-opened fist. The primary striking surface is the ridge formed by folding the fingers at the first phalangeal joint; the secondary striking surface is the palm hand. Strikes include the phoenix eye, which is a punch to pressure points including the eye and temple. It is formed by lifting only the index finger's knuckle while the rest are kept in a usual fist form. The leopard fist can also be modified by slightly lifting the fingers to form a claw. The leopard claw can be used to rake, claw, and rip at the face and throat of an assailant. The leopard style is thought to be a midway point between the Tiger and Crane styles, the strength and height. An interesting technique of the leopard is the ability to simultaneously block and strike the opponent. This is not commonly used in the harder martial arts (like the other Shaolin styles, for example). The sheer speed of the leopard is a defining characteristic of the style. 'Mental Chi' Mental chi is the ability that focuses on brain activity and perception. It dictates the thought process, often reaching higher enlightments, new thoughts, even patterns, and stratigies that may have seemed impossible to comprehend or do before. Such a thing can allow the brain to be comprehensive of ones surroundings, and focus ones senses, and preform complex theories and unlock storage in the brain that was never previously avalible. this change is not permanant, and is onlly a temporary burst for a prolonged chi time period. Dragon Fist Trevor 18.jpg The Dragon Monk By summoning their chi, drawing form the specialties of all four spirits and focusing it into his hand, he can draw upon the superhuman energy derived from the heart of the four divine beast and make his fist inhumanly powerful and super humanly resistant to injury and pain on a superhuman scale. This "Dragon Fist" technique does not involve a physical transformation of any kind, simply a psychic channeling of concentrated chi energy and chi bases. With his fist in this state, the Dragon Monk combines the four properties into a mannor as such: using physical chi he strengthens his arm 10x the muscle mass of a peak human's strength, but condenses the muscle tissue as much as he can causing no physical change to the apperence of his hand. Fortification Chi not only helps in the condensing process but it completely encompasses the arm/hand in a thick layer of forified chi, rendering it virtually indestructible. Added to this is the other property of fortification which gives his arm a blade like edge, thouasands of tiny Madarins all resonated at a high frequency allowing his arm to virtually pierce anything it comes into contact with similar to a high frequency blade in principle. The Mental Chi aspect allows the Dragon Monk to use his accelerated mental function in a way that essentially gives him the ability to multitask the obsticles infront of him. He can not only one and sustain this energy, but his mind races at such a speed that allows him to process all possible outcomes he can think of, and see all variable moves his opponent could potentially make to counter him IF he knows his opponent well enough at this point. If not, there is a bonus as it increase his awarness to a superhuman state, all of his sense working in conjunction to give him a psuedo danger sense and react to any changes in his opponent or the enviornment infront of him. Finally the Destructive Chi aspect, which speaks for itself, causes the Mandarins resonating around his fist to gain the properties to destroy various if not any form of matter as long as they abide by the four states of matter (Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma). This includes spirits or non coporeal forms as to be seen they must cross into this dimensonal plane, added to the fact that all Dragon Monks because of their unique Spirutal Pressure can attack these things at will. This move however is VERY powerful, and such a concentratio of chi requires time to focus and use. The effects varry depending on how long one charges the Dragon Fist but depending on the tier of charge, will determine it's output. (At base it is required to be charged for at least one post. The move itself can only be used an overall total of five times and depending on the tier the number of uses decreases.) *''Tier I: After a breif (1 post) charge time, the Dragon Fist will be able to shatter wood and brick, rip through steel, and punch his opponents with extraordinary concussive force without sustaining injury to himself. The force of this technique has rendered incredibly durable Super humans unconscious or pierce through the very being of a human body like butter. At this tier the move can be used 5 times at max. This is the most mallable level because with this tier of strength he can channel this energy from around his fist, to his entire body (counts as a sepertate useage) and even channel this energy on both hands, for rapid attacks. (1 usage for each hand, so that'd be 2 usages. It is also in this tier, and this tier only that his Dragon Fist punch can durate for the entirty of his opponents post as well, giving leighway to defend with the attack as well.) These actions can't be replicated as efficiently in any other tier. *Tier II: After a longer charge time (2 post) The Dragon Fist will upgrade in power, able to knock down structures about as big as a double wide trailer, a standard helicopter/jet or an 18 wheeler, peircing them and cause them to explode in a grandious way. This much power is enough to physically destroy the human body 2 times over, but at this tier this technqiue can only be used 3 times. *Tier III: After a much more signifigant charge time (3 post) The Dragon Fist will obtain enough power to level a mass about the size of a football feild plus. ('57,600-60,000 square feet') . This much explosive and destructive power can completely over power and oblitherate a target on sight, but can be dangerous. While the energy doesn't directly effect the Monk himself it would be unwise to use this in a populated area. This tier of this technique is only good for 2 uses. *''Tier IV: After a long awaited and properly undisrupted charge time, depending on if the monk can keep his concentration long enough, (5 post unless it's for NPC battle purposes i.e plot) The Dragon Fist power will reach a scale of power completely dangerous for any realm the Dragon Monk choses to use it in. This much power alone is enough to completely level a mountain only a tier below mt.fuji or something as big as the majority of the empire state building. The cataclysmic power of this ability is astounding, as an entire crater can be created even in the biggest of cities form the pure destructive and focused energy of this attack at this tier. Anyone, anything hit by this, is subject to suffer utter oblitheration and non exsistence as the massive concentration of energy can expand for a solid 2 miles from the users body. This is without hitting the target, as the Monk can simply strike the ground near the user and count on the explosive wave to do the work for him if need be. This move is so energy dependent it can only be used once, and if it ever came to use this tier of attack the Monk would've exhuasted all of his Chi energy for the duration of the battle and will be slumped to his base condition and unable to use any form of chi. Again this is not recommended for heavy populated areas. 'Variations' These are the variations and other ways the the Dragon Fist energies can be utilized. It should be noted if it is not stated that he is using the dragon fist energies, then anything chi related that is done does not count towards this manuver or his regular chi. *''Dragon Shroud: ''The Dragon Shroud is a Tier 1 variation of the original Dragon Fist. In this variation the chi overtakes the phsycial body in a shroud that flickers like a flame. it stems 3 above the user and 4 feet around the user. The Chi that would go into the fist as a shroud is spread more evenly around the body, allowing the user to become a human bullet or a pseudo unstopplable force as they can pierce their body through many conventional objects that would stand in there way. Granted this counts as a usage of the five usage limit, but in certain scenarios this can come in handy for a different and unique style of attack. Should a person put their hand into this shroud or come into contact with it, they would surely face the utter incineration and distingeration of their flesh, muscle, bone and cells thanks to its fortificative and destructive nature of course. If the user is aware they can change this to a repelling force to keep things non lethal. The appearence of the user changes however as they become what looks to be a shilouette of their own skeleton, bringing forth a ghastly demonic looking image. *''Dragon Wave:'' The Dragon Wave is a more wide spread and multi tasking variation of the usual destructive dragon fist. Applying the principles of the archaic Push Blast the user can expel the dangerous energy off of his fist as a wave of multil chi based air pressure which host a yellow colored tint to it. While not as concentrated as it's original and reducing it's force to that of concussive, it does make for a great distance maker. Still applying to the one post charge and usage counter, it is good for clearing out large waves of demons, demonic spirits or human beings for that mattter. It disperses as a solid wave and as a set raidious of 8 feet from the user. Category:Physiology Category:Dragon Monk Category:Dragon Kang Category:Spiritual Category:Fantasy Category:OG Trevor Lockhart